re by replacing soft iron square bars on the cells with new, rounded tool proof, bars. In addition to other changes, a new locking system was installed which allowed guards to open one cell at a time, instead of the whole block. Metal detectors were installed on the dock and at the entrance to the cell house. On top of all of these improvements, three new guard towers were constructed to keep a better look over the activities of the island. Soon Alcatraz was a fully operational penitentiary housing some of the hardest criminals in the world. Among these criminals were, Al Capone and George Machine Gun Kelly. With hardened convicts like these, escapes were inevitable. One of the most famous attempts to escape Alcatraz took place in 1939. Five men had been slowly sawing their way through the bars on their solitary confinement cells. Unlike the rest of the prison, these cells were not equipped with the tool proof bars. Early in the morning of January 13, the men broke out of their cells and by using a home-made spreader to part the tool proof bars, made it out of the cellhouse. The men ran for the water but were discovered thirty minutes after leaving their cells. One man surrendered as the other four ran for it. The chase continued with one man dead and the last three captured. As punishment, two of the men were sent to dark cells, solitary confinement cells that left the inmate in total darkness for 24 hours a day, except for a ten minute shower once a week. These two men spent two years in these conditions. Other escapes would take place after this, and the final escape led to the end of Alcatraz as a prison. The security of Alcatraz was questioned after the last escape in 1962, which was executed with relative ease. Ironically, the one thing that made Alcatraz such a secure prison was also the thing that was causing its demise. The salt water from the bay had taken its toll on the prison. The concrete in the cellhou...
